The Insulated Render and Cladding Association (INCA) Awards 2016 were presented by rugby union star Martin Bayfield at a black-tie gala dinner on Thursday 20 October in front of over 250 industry guests.

The INCA Awards have become the highlight of the industry calendar, celebrating successes in external wall insulation (EWI) and showcasing innovation and design of the highest standard. Project of the Year was awarded to Sto and Astley Facades for their work on the Islands Project at Chester Zoo which stood out for its complexity and interesting use of EWI, proving just what the industry can achieve.

The Insulated Render and Cladding Association (INCA) has called on the Government to double the target for Solid Wall Insulation (SWI) measures in the 2017 ECO transition period in response to the Government’s ‘Help to Heat’ consultation.

The proposed ECO scheme has several positive features; however, INCA’s response highlights that fuel poverty cannot be effectively tackled without a strong focus on SWI as almost half of Britain’s ‘fuel poor’ families live in solid wall home1 . The response also points out that the key cost assumptions used by Government have been significantly overstated, which has resulted in a very low target of 17,000 measures per year being set for SWI. INCA believes that the SWI target should be doubled to 33,000 measures per year, which can easily be delivered within the £640 million budget.

The short list for the Insulated Render and Cladding Association (INCA) Awards 2016, which recognise innovation and excellence in external wall insulation (EWI), was announced at the INCA Meeting for Members in July.

The longstanding INCA Awards demonstrate not only the vital role for EWI in improving the energy efficiency of buildings and lifting households out of fuel poverty, but the diverse range of innovative EWI solutions. There are eight award categories covering projects in the non-residential and domestic sectors, training, outstanding achievement and architectural design, which is new for 2016.